Emotional Labor
by PurpleCadet
Summary: Tensions run high at the birth of Louis' baby. ONE-SHOT.


**Hello Suitors! I have been finding it quite hard to write for Darvey now that they're canon, so I whipped up a little one-shot to get me back into practice. I hope you all like.**

* * *

A flash of red catches his eye as Harvey spots her heading toward the elevator. He walks several paces behind her, admiring her graceful stride, the slight sashay of her hips. She steps into the crowded elevator and he is right behind, finding his natural place by her side just as the door closes. She keeps her gaze fixed firmly ahead, but he notices the clench of her jaw, the way she straightens her posture.

People begin to file out on each level and by the time they reach the fortieth floor, it's just the two of them.

"Donna, how long is this going to go on?"

"Until you apologise for being an ass."

"I still maintain that I _wasn't _an ass."

"Well, once again we're at an imp_ass_e."

Harvey grins, turning to her. "I see what you did there. Very cute."

"I know."

He hates when she freezes him out like this. In all the time they've known each other, it's only happened a handful of times. Of the two of them, it's usually Harvey who shuts down and refuses to communicate in a fight. Donna prods, niggles and coaxes. Harvey finds their new, reversed roles baffling and frankly, a little unsettling.

"It's been five nights, Donna," he says, his voice practically a whine.

"If you're about to plead a case of blue balls, let me know so I can take the stairs."

"Hey," he says, touching her arm, "It's not about that."

She raises her brows.

"Okay, it's a little about that."

She pulls out of his grasp, crossing her arms.

"I miss going home with you."

He sees her resolve melt for a second, before she steels herself again, intent on dragging this out.

"Fine." The elevator doors slide open and he takes the opportunity to step out first. "When you're ready to have an adult conversation, let me know."

"Well that's rich."

He takes the long way around to his office, his mood already sour. He fires inside, wishing for the umpteenth time that his walls weren't made of glass so he could slam the goddamn door.

He sits down for all of two minutes when his direct line rings. He hopes, foolishly, that it's Donna calling to make up, but is suitably disappointed to hear Louis' voice on the phone instead.

"We're having a baby."

"Wow, Louis, you could at least start by buying me a drink."

"Get your head out your ass – you know what I mean."

Harvey smiles. "Louis, congratulations. Give Sheila my best."

"Harvey, I didn't call you so you could offer your limp congratulations."

"So then why did you call me?" he snaps.

"We have a very specific birth plan."

Harvey grimaces. "Look, Louis, I really don't need to be involved in that."

"Goddammit, Harvey!"

"Louis, what can I do?" he relents, taking pity on the man.

"I need you to meet me at Sacred Heart Hospital with the emergency bag for Sheila. It's stowed in my office, along with a dozen laminated copies of our birth plan."

"You're not serious?"

"Harvey, you may be content to let your future spawn pop out anywhere on the sidewalk, but Tyrion Louis Litt is going to have a first-rate birth."

Harvey swallows a laugh. "If I do this, will you promise not to name your kid _that_?"

"I promise nothing," he says, and abruptly hangs up.

Harvey stares at the phone in his hand, hardly believing the conversation that just took place He puts the receiver on the hook and takes off for Louis' office.

He finds a medium-sized suitcase in the corner of Louis' closest, fixed with a combination lock on the zipper.

"Who on earth would want to break into this?"

As promised, Harvey discovers a binder on the edge of Louis' desk. He doesn't bother to count the laminated, double-sided pages filed in the binder, but he safely assumes there is indeed twelve.

"Louis, I need you to sign off on – Harvey."

He looks up to a surprised Donna. She glances around the office.

"Where's Louis?" She gestures to the bag and folder, "And what are you doing?"

"Sheila's in labour."

Donna's face lights up. "Oh my god."

"And somehow I've been roped into dropping off her stuff." He pauses, considering the weight of Louis' request. "You don't think he's going to ask me to be the godfather do you?"

Donna bites her lip to keep from laughing.

"Donna."

She nods, trying to hide her smile. As horrified as Harvey is at the thought, he takes pleasure in wringing the first genuine smile out of her in days.

"You have to do it."

Donna walks over to him, taking the binder from his hands. "Harvey, he asked you, it obviously means something to him to have you there."

He looks over her shoulder as she opens the binder then promptly turns away when his eyes scan over the word _placenta. _

"Who's going to run the firm if we're both not here?"

"Oh, I don't know, the other two named partners?"

Harvey deflates. "Right."

Donna snaps the binder shut and hands it back to him, a hint of a smirk gracing her features.

"Fine. I still don't know how I became a part of this and not you."

Right on cue, Donna's phone rings. Her eyes widen in horror. Harvey smiles.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

Donna narrows her eyes. She takes her phone out from the pocket of her dress and answers without checking the caller ID.

"This is Donna."

"Donna, I know it's you. I called _you._"

"_Louis_," she says through gritted teeth, shooting daggers at Harvey. "I hear you're going to be a Daddy soon."

"Listen, are you with Harvey right now?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Goddammit, he should have left by now."

"I'm on my way out, Louis!" Harvey shouts into the speaker.

"Donna, I want you here too."

"Louis, I'm not sure –"

"Come on, Donna. You and Harvey are family. Sheila's parents are gone, Esther is stuck interstate and can't get a flight out until tomorrow. I want my son to at least meet his other Aunt today."

Harvey can see tears forming in her eyes and he plucks the phone from her hands. "Louis, we'll be there in fifteen minutes."

He hangs up and hands the phone back to her. He touches her waist. "Come on, I'll call Ray."

* * *

The thick, stale hospital air hits his noise the moment they step inside. They track down the maternity ward fast enough and are saved the trouble of asking a nurse for directions to Sheila's room when they overhear Louis berating a doctor.

"I will sue your ass for malpractice so fast it'll make your fat head spin."

They both share a sigh and follow the sound of Louis. They find the father-to-be going toe-to-toe with a doctor who looks to be fresh out of med school and ill-equipped to deal with a man as unhinged as Louis.

Harvey claps a hand on Louis' shoulder.

"Louis, are you throwing flimsy lawsuits around?"

The doctor is visibly relieved at the arrival of Harvey and Donna.

"Harvey. About time you got here. Give this amateur my birth plan."

Donna, who has the binder at the ready, hands a copy to the doctor. "I would run now if I were you. We promise to keep him on a leash."

The doctor moves swiftly at Donna's instructions and disappears down the hallway.

"Louis," Donna addresses him, "This anger can't be good for the baby."

"Well neither is that sad excuse for an obstetrician," he fires back.

Harvey jumps to her aid. "What's the problem here, Louis?"

"Doctor Hunter is supposed to be delivering our baby, but she had some kind of family emergency and they replaced her with that clown."

"Louis, this is the best hospital in the city, I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"Oh please! That man wouldn't know an ass from a labia. I may as well shred our entire birth plan."

"Well, it's laminated, so."

Donna slaps Harvey's shoulder. "Louis, I'm sure Sheila will be fine. Why don't you go in there and sit with her for a while? We'll be right outside."

Donna is one of the few people able to calm Louis when he's on a tirade, and the birth of his child is no different. Louis' shoulders drop. He sighs, rubbing a hand over his forehead.

"Thanks for coming guys," Louis says, hugging them both impulsively before heading inside Sheila's room.

Harvey turns to Donna once they're alone. "Coffee?"

"Please. I'm going to call Alex and Samantha to let them know we're here."

Harvey is loath to buy coffee from any kind of machine, so he makes his way to the cafeteria to fetch two very cheap cups of burnt, black coffee.

He returns to the ward and takes a seat in the waiting area with Donna. She accepts the cup, eying it suspiciously. Harvey watches her force down a mouthful.

"Well, that tastes about as great as it looks," she says. "I might try and find a coffee shop nearby."

"Don't you dare try and abandon me here."

"Busted."

Harvey takes a moment to observe the other people in the waiting room. Each person looks exhausted, probably having been here all night and morning. He shifts in his chair, trying to get comfortable, suddenly aware that they could be sitting here all day. His thoughts stray to the firm.

"Did you get a hold of Samantha or Alex?" he asks Donna.

"They promised not to burn down the firm while we're gone."

"Well, that's reassuring."

They both take in turns visiting Sheila, abiding by Louis' one-visitor-at-a-time rule. Harvey doesn't quite know what to say, having never been present for the birth of a child before. Even Marcus' kids he only visited a few months after they'd been home, he remembers, regretfully.

Nevertheless, the couple thank him for being there and he beams, just a little, when they refer to him as uncle Harvey. He'd screwed up many times with his family, being absent for the important milestones and the not-so-important ones, that he's quietly grateful for the do-over with his surrogate family.

Donna is missing from the waiting room when he returns, so he finds his seat, settling in for a long wait. A young girl of maybe three or four comes running up to him and stops, staring at him with wide eyes and a huge smile. She wears her hair in two long, red braids and a pair of bright purple overalls.

"Hi! I'm Ellie!"

She holds out her hand. Harvey looks around, wondering who the kid belongs to. He looks back at her outstretched hand and shakes it.

"Hi Ellie, I'm Harvey."

The girl lets go and darts over to an elderly woman a few seats down from him. Ellie greets the woman with the same enthusiasm she had just shown Harvey seconds ago. The woman accepts her handshake with a smile. Harvey watches as the girl makes her way around the entire room then takes a seat in the corner, next to a woman he assumes is her mother.

Donna drops down in the seat beside him, pulling him from his idle thoughts.

"Where did you disappear to?"

She crosses her legs, sinking into the chair. "I called Rachel to give her an update."

"You were gone a while. Did our argument make the headlines?"

"Harvey," she says his name tiredly.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap the other night," he apologises, reaching for her hand. "I wasn't trying to…trivialise your feelings. I just don't understand why we still can't tell people we're together."

"I don't want to fight, Harvey."

"Who said anything about fighting?"

She glances around self-consciously. "This is neither the time, nor the place."

"I don't get it Donna," he presses on, "We've been together over a month, things are the best they've ever been with us. The firm is back on top. Why are you so intent on keeping this to ourselves?"

He tears his eyes from her when he hears Louis' voice. "Hey you two." Louis eyes their joined hands and Donna snatches hers from his grasp. Harvey forces himself not to react.

"What was that?" he demands, pointing between the pair of them.

"It doesn't matter Louis," Donna says. "What's going on with Sheila?"

"The doctor says things are moving quickly, it should only be a few hours," he says, voice brimming with excitement, apparently forgetting what he just saw. "I just wanted to keep you updated, I don't think I'll be out again until I'm a father."

Harvey watches Louis' lip quiver and braces himself for another hug. Louis crouches to his eye-level and embraces him full-force. Harvey pats him gently, oddly used to these emotional outbursts. Louis gives Donna the same frenzied embrace and then scurries back into Sheila's room.

"Harvey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –"

"You know, I've been wracking my brain all week, trying to figure out why you wouldn't want people to find out," he says, resting his elbows on his knees.

She touches his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "You said yourself how well this is going. What if telling people changes that?"

He angles his body to her, reaching out to cup the side of her face. "Why would that change anything?"

Donna doesn't answer and his phone rings, effectively ending their conversation.

"Answer it," Donna urges. His eyes stay fixed on her as he takes the call. It's Samantha. He only listens in pieces, something about her having to go to court and Alex shitting the bed in a deposition. He gets the message; they need him at the office urgently.

"Right, fine. I'm on my way." He hangs up, then tell Donna, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

He clasps her cheek again, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I wish you'd tell me what you're thinking."

* * *

Harvey returns to the firm, putting out several fires while he's there, calming Alex down after opposing council rattled him and placating Samantha's anger. He's reminded again how new they are to leadership and makes a note to keep a closer eye on them. Harvey spent years pissing Jessica off for being hot-headed and he already sees far too much of himself in his peers.

He gets a text from Donna at four, telling him that Sheila was just wheeled into the delivery room. He steals himself away shortly after, wanting to ensure that both he and Donna are waiting for Louis once the baby is born.

He finds Donna in the same place, though she's close to drifting off in her chair. Harvey takes the seat beside her, letting her head rest against his shoulder. His hand finds a natural home on her knee.

"Harvey?"

"No, it's your other devastatingly handsome boyfriend."

"Oh good, make sure you're gone before Harvey gets back."

He squeezes her knee, letting his eyes drift closed.

Harvey is sure he's never seen Donna look quite so breath-taking as she does holding a baby in her arms. He's afraid to speak, for fear of saying something truly stupid.

"Thank god she doesn't look like Louis," he whispers, out of earshot from an exhausted Louis and Sheila on the other side of the room. Harvey, she looks like every other new-born he's ever seen in photos; small, pink and wrinkled. And yet, she is undoubtedly beautiful.

"Thank god they didn't name her Tyrion."

"I wouldn't say that Gwynnifer Litt is a prize choice, either."

"Just be glad they didn't name her Harveyetta."

Harvey shudders at the thought. It was probably in the kid's best interest that the sonogram had indicated the incorrect gender.

"You want to hold her?" Donna asks, though Harvey can plainly see that she's not ready for her turn to be over.

"No, I'm good right here."

Donna beams up at him, smiling. She steps closer and kisses him softly on the lips. Harvey can't stop grinning.

"Louis, honey, I think we better take our baby back before they run off with her."

Donna laughs, inching over to the bed and carefully giving the baby back to Sheila.

"We're going to go, give you all some time alone," Harvey says.

"Thank you both for being here. I can't tell you how much…"

"Us too, Louis," Harvey says.

Louis nods fast, barely keeping his tears at bay. He reaches for Donna's hand and they slip out of the room quietly. They leave the hospital in silence, walking arm-in-arm through the early evening air.

"Well that got a little emotional," she says, slicing through the silence.

"Tell me about it," he says. "So, I guess Louis knows now."

Donna grips his hand, slowing their pace until they're at a complete stop.

"You were right, Harvey. We _are _the best that we've been. I was, _am,_ terrified that it will all go away."

"Donna, I love you. You have to know that by now."

She tilts her head up towards his and kisses him slowly, drawing out the moment.

"Telling people makes it real. When it becomes real, that's when there's something to lose."

"It's been real for a long time."

"Harvey," she says, voice full of anguish, "I don't think I have it in me to deal with the fallout if this doesn't work."

"Donna, this _will _work. There's no reason for it not too." he says, hands circling her waist.

"Please don't think I haven't wanted to tell people, because I have. It just feels…safer, when it's only the two of us. I think I got used to the bubble."

"As much as I also love having you to myself," he says, hands sliding down her back with intent. "I also want everyone to know that there is no way in hell I am letting you go after I only just got you."

She kisses him again, her body flush against his. She pulls back, breathless and says, "Can we go home now?"

* * *

He lays in her arms, head on her shoulder, leg strewn across her frame – their preferred position.

"I'm sorry I freaked out," she mumbles into his hair.

"I just can't believe that out of the two of us, _you _were the one who freaked out and couldn't communicate their feelings."

She rakes her fingernails softly over his shoulder blade.

"Sucks, doesn't it?"

He kisses her chest in response.

"Harvey?"

"Mm?"

"What do you think about kids?"

His hand slides up her torso, coming to rest above her heart.

"I know I want them with you."

He hears her breath intake. He tilts his head and their lips meet in a deep, languid kiss.


End file.
